Henry a



(No Model.)

H. A. GALE. BOX CORNER FITTING.

No. 586,122. Patented July 13,1897

Nrrnn TATES ATEN'T Enron,

HENRY A. GALE, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO GEORGIANA C. GALE, OE SAME PLACE.

BOX CORNER-FITTING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 586,122, dated July 13, 1897.

Application filed February 11, 1897. Serial No. 622,959. (No model.)

To all, whom 7115 11m 1/ concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY A. GALE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of 5 Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Box Corner-Fittings, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to those devices which are intended to be applied to the cor- IO ners otboxes, cases, crates, and similar packages or receptacles to enable them to be readily piled one upon another in such manner that the stack thus formed will not topple over. 1 The object of the invention is to provide a very simple and inexpensive set of fittings, one of which can be readily secured to the walls of a box at each of the upper or each of the lower corners in such manner that when one box is placed upon another the fittings will guide and retain the upper box upon the top of the lower, so that the bottom of the upper box will form the cover of the lower box, enabling ahigh stack to be quickly 2 5 piled and transported without danger of collapsing.

To this end the invention resides in a set of fittings each of which is provided with means whereby it may be easily attached to the walls of a box at either of the corners and With an angular portion arranged so as to project beyond the corner of the box to which it is attached for receiving and loosely engaging the walls of the adjacent corner of 5 the next box of the stack, as more particularly hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claim.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 shows a stack of boxes provided with corner-fittings which embody the invention, the fittings in this instance being attached to the walls of the boxes at the upper corners. Fig. 2 is a plan view of such a stack. Fig. 3 shows a single box with the 5 fittings attached to the walls at the lower corners. Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of one of the fittings, looking at it oornerwise. Fig. 5 is an enlarged view looking cornerwise at a fitting made in a little different shape from that shown in Fig. 4.

The fittings shown in the views have a pair of legs 1, provided with perforations 2 for the passage of rivets, nails, screws, or other devices which are used to secure the fittings to the walls of the box. These legs are ar- 5 5 ranged with their faces at right angles with each other, soas to be attached to the walls of theboxaround the corner from each other, and they are joined by a bar 3, which has a bend at about the middle of its length, so that its ends extend at right angles with each other and join thelegs in planes parallel with the faces of the legs. When the fitting is in place, this bar extends along the edges of the box on each side of the corner. The legs also may, if desired, be joined near their other ends by another bar 4, bent at right angles, as illustrated by the dotted lines in Fig. 4; but this is not essential.

Extending between the ends of the legs or extending upwardly from the bar 3 is a part 5. This part 5, which is also formed with an angle similar to that of the bar 3, may be made as a bar, as shown in Fig. 4, in which case it may arch from one leg to the other on a curve, or the two sides may extend in straight lines, so as to meet at an angle. The part 5 may, if preferred, be made solid, as shown in full lines in Fig. 5, or with openings, as illustrated by the dotted lines in that figure, so as to leave a brace 6, joining the corner of the part 5 with the corner of the bar 3. In either form this part 5 extends beyond the corner of the box when the fitting is attached and forms an angular pocket for receiving a cor- 8 5 ner of the next box. Usually this part 5 is formed so as to incline somewhat outwardly from the planes of the outside surfaces of the walls of the box beyond the edges of which it extends, so that the corner of the box that is passed into the angular pocket formed by this part will enter readily.

These fittings may be formed of malleableiron castings, and they can be easily riveted or otherwise fastened to the walls of boxes, 5 cases, crates, or the like receptacles or packages near the upper or lower corners in such manner that a high stack can easily and quickly be piled without danger of its toppling over. If the fittings are secured at the four upper corners ofthe boxes, the upper box is readily set over the lower with its corners between the upwardly-proj ectin g an gular pocket parts 5, which hold the bottom of the upper box exactly over the top of the lower box, and if the fittings are secured at the four lower corners of the boxes the upper box is readily set over the lower box with the corners of the lower box between the downwardly-projecting angular pocket parts 5, which hold the top of the lower box exactly beneath the bottom of the upper box. If the fittings are secured at the lower corners when the boxes are standing unstacked on a floor, the projecting fittings form legs for the boxes.

These fittings are simple and inexpensive to manufacture, for they are plain and require but a small amount of metal, and they are easily and quickly placed and secured in position either at the upper or lower corners of the boxes, as desired. They are light in weight, so do not materially increase the weight of the boxes, and they are small and occupy but little space when in position. By the employment of such fittings on grocers carrying-receptacles, marketmens deliveryboxes, or bottlers cases a delivery-wagon may be made to carry a greatly-increased load, for a number of receptacles, boxes, or cases can be placed one upon another, in which position they can be carried about Without danger of tipping over or sliding off and becoming a confused pile in the wagon.

I claim as my invention- A box-fitting formed in a single piece of metal having perforated legs that extend with their faces in planes at right angles with each other and adapted to be attached to the walls of a box near a corner, and having an angular part the walls of which are at right angles with each other and incline outwardly from the planes of the legs from which they project, said angular part being adapted to extend beyond and a little out from the edges at the corner of the box to which the fitting is attached and form a pocket for the adjacent corner of the next box to be stacked, substantially as specified.

HENRY A. GALE.

\Vitn esses:

HARRY R. WILLIAMS, E. J. IIYDE. 

